Monthly Archives: July 2011

I dislike country. Yes, I said so don’t get mad at me anyone who loves it. The closest artist I like that comes close to country is Johnny Cash but really, Johnny is just Johnny. No one has ever produced music like he has, leading him to be inducted not only to the Country Hall of Fame but also the Rock and Roll and Gospel Halls of Fame.

I can’t even pick one song to feature since he has so many great one. So here is “A Boy Name Sue,” one of his more “lighter” songs.

My younger brother and I listened to a lot of Johnny Cash when we were growing up, so much so that we memorized many of the songs. I guess my parents didn’t warn us that other people might not appreciate our singing since one time my brother sang the entirety of “A Boy Name Sue,” son of a bitch included, to his preschool classmates. Needless to say, it didn’t go over well.

Another song I love is “The Long Black Veil.” Johnny’s voice is so haunting in this song.

Also, love this version with Joni Mitchell. Their voices mesh so well together. Not as well as June Carter’s and Johnny, but their whole lives meshed so well together. If it wasn’t for June, Johnny might never had gotten his life back on track and never made some of his greatest songs. And this brings me to the final Cash song I want to feature. “Hurt” was one of the final hits that he released before his death in 2003. It is a cover of a Nine Inch Nails original, but both are amazing renditions that have vastly different meanings. (Sneak peek at next week= I will be featuring “Hurt” when I do a special post series on NIN’s The Downward Spiral).

This is one of the most moving music videos I have ever seen. The clips of his life, the imagery of bounty and decay, his haunting voice– all send chills down my back. And when he shuts the piano at the end, I never fail to cry.

I am home (if that wasn’t apparent from the title)! My research program ended, I turned in my paper, and everything is good… except that I am taking the MCAT in a week 😦 But I am HOME! With my dog! Lets focus on that.

When I listened to this on You Tube with the music video, I came across a great comment:

Imagine if some artist or band tried to get a song like this released TODAY…?
Producer: It’s not commercial enough! Not enough swearing… say “Mother-f*****’ more! You know… like “Mother-f******s in … white satin… shit… whatever…” Oh, and it doesn’t have a proper drum track. More doof doof! There’s no references to ho’s, pimps, ice, how corrupt the Man is… how you have to kill to survive… that sort of thing. Geez, guys, get with it!

“Nights in White Satin” and all of The Moody Blues music does not fit the “current definition” of music today. Or rather the current mainstream music. I feel like there is tons of music like this being performed but the general public has limited access to it. I don’t know how to get a wider variety of great music to the people, since radio stations only play about 15 top songs on any given day it seems. Hopefully this time of music doesn’t die out. Hopefully my generation can appreciate not only the good popular music but also the oldies and “alternative” music of today.

Do you listen to radio at all? Are you as pissed off at the small music selection they play? Or is it just because I am in a smaller city that the selection sucks?

I have been working on my research paper all day so I need a break ie POST TIME!

One of the songs I was obsessed with last summer was “Bulletproof” by La Roux. Something about Elly Jackson’s unique voice, the beat, the emotions behind the lyrics. Whenever the song was played on the radio, I would stick my hand out the window (no air… my car is a ’93 Buick LeSabre), turn up the volume really loud, and sing along. Which really isn’t a lot different from what I do when I am alone in my car but I did it extra loud when “Bulletproof” came on.

My love affair with “Bulletproof” turned to a whole relationship with La Roux. Like Little Boots, I can listen to La Roux’s whole album and not find a song I dislike. But my favorite, probably in part because of the awesome music video, is “I’m Not Your Toy.”

After watching the video, I had the biggest girl crush on Elly. Her voice is beautiful, she is gorgeous and sexy in a subtle way (not like Katy Perry, Rihanna etc), her hair is amazing, and she seems so happy during the video aka actually smiling and laughing.

I could post more pictures but I will reign in my crush. And go back to my paper 😦

Do you have any big projects that are seemingly dominating your life right now?

I find music from a variety of places–my dad, my friends, allmusic, and of course pandora. I have found countless artists from that site and also, I don’t know if I would be able to get through college without pandora. Best study aid ever. I don’t know what station I was listening to when The Bravery popped up but I was instantly hooked on their song “Believe.” I “obtained” the rest of their discography but have yet to listen to a lot of it. Hopefully they are not a one hit wonder and actually have other great stuff. I wouldn’t say their music is unique or something that I would listen to on a daily/weekly basis but it is good study music aka not too loud, not too soft, but just right.

The music video is a little weird and would probably make an epileptic go into a seizure but I like it.

Are any of my readers Glee fans as much as I am? As in, so excited when Tuesday comes around so you can take a break from studying, listen to some great music, and laugh at all the high school drama you hopefully will never have to deal with again. Yes, I cannot wait until they start again in September. It is going to be epic.

One of my favorite episodes was their Fleetwood Mac episode entitled Rumours. I even made my mother watch it since she is a huge Fleetwood fan. If you haven’t seen it, head over to Fox and watch it before it expires.

The only thing that would make the episode better is if it included songs from the Fleetwood album. I mean, “Monday Morning,” “Crystal,” “Sugar Daddy”… basically all of my favorite Fleetwood songs. The song that made me fall in love though was “Rhiannon.” Stevie Nicks’ voice– so sensual, a little rough, and powerful–makes this song amazing. I have heard that the song is loosely based on Welsh mythology, and I have been interested to read some of the stories. When I have time.

And I always really loved the album cover too. Apparently, short band member on the cover (I think Fleetwood or McVee) is really tall in real life.

My friend Matt has been introducing me to new music almost weekly. Like Alex and Y-Ass and Marcy Playground. And now Black Lab. All I can say is thank you. Black Lab is this amazing group with a wide range of music though their later stuff is a lot darker though both are great. I think their biggest hit was probably “Wash it Away,” a 90s hit (see a trend, I am kind of in a 90s mood for the past few days. All I have to do is a post on NSYNC or Backstreet Boys).

But my favorite song of theirs so far was never a hit. Side note, I won’t pretend I have listen to a lot of their songs, I am still a Black Lab virgin so my favorite will probably change. Anyway, my current favorite is “This Night,” a dark, beautiful song. Paul Durham’s voice is so haunting that I get shivers every time I listen to it. And the lyrics are so well written. He is begging for forgiveness, we never find out what for but that makes it that much more powerful. Who in their life hasn’t wanted to be forgiven for something? Do you want forgiveness from your parents, your friends, your partner… yourself? I have that problem. I can’t forgive myself for even the littlest mistakes I make sometimes. It is way worst than if someone else is mad at me because I am constantly hearing myself in my head. I’m my worst critic I guess, but I hear everyone is. Maybe?

I just had to start out the post with a picture of the amazing, hot, beautiful, talented Jessie J. No words can describe how much I love Jessie J. Her voice, her music, her smile, her beauty. And her story is amazing. She started out by writing songs for other artists, namely “Party in the USA.” I don’t know if you know about it, but it sort of went triple platinum and was named one of the best- selling single ever. Then, she wrote “Do It Like A Dude” for Rihanna but the American pop singer turned it down. So Jessie J decided to take on the song and released it as her first single. And it is amazing. Now let me preface the video before you watch it. Yes it is explicit and very sexual. But Jessie meant it as sort of a parody on men’s behavior. This is a line from an interview with Pride Source…

“I was writing some songs in the studio, but I was bored with the song I was writing and there were two boys – two producers called Parker and James – and one of them wears (his) trousers ridiculously low. So I just started free styling like a dude, and it was fun. I wanted to write a song that was tongue-in-cheek and a parody of a stereotypical male. But also, I wanted the song to be empowering for girls, but not kind of an “I hate men” song – because I don’t, and I don’t say that in the song. It’s about feeling hardcore.”

Another reason I love Jessie J is how open she is about her sexuality and states she has been open since the beginning of foray into the music business so is not using it to get attention like Gaga or Katy Perry (aka rumors about Gaga’s sexuality are rampant and Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl”? Enough said). Again, read the pride source interview where Jessie explains herself a lot better than I can do.

Cover to her Debut Album- I am just getting into the other songs and have liked most of what I have heard